Trump assassination attempt live: Suspect accused of aiming AK-47 into Florida golf course named as Ryan Routh

A man pointed the barrel of an AK-47-style weapon through the fence at Trump National Golf Club in West Palm Beach while Donald Trump was playing a round of golf on Sunday, prompting the Secret Service to open fire, Palm Beach County Sheriff Ric Bradshaw said.

The suspect was named as Ryan Wesley Routh, three law enforcement officials toldThe Associated Press.

Sheriff Bradshaw said the suspect dropped the weapon and fled in an SUV when agents opened fire. He was later taken into custody in a neighboring county thanks to a witness who saw him running from the bushes.

The former president is safe and unharmed, and the FBI says it is investigating “what appears to be an attempted assassination” of the Republican presidential nominee, just nine weeks after he survived another attempt on his life.

Authorities found two backpacks hanging on a fence and a GoPro camera and said that the man was about 400 yards to 500 yards away from Trump and hiding in shrubbery when he was spotted.

The incident comes two months after Trump survived an assassination attempt at a rally in Butler, Pennsylvania, back on July 13.

Gunman Thomas Crooks opened fire on the former president with an AR-style rifle from a rooftop of a nearby building. A bullet struck Trump in the ear while one rallygoer was killed before Crooks was shot dead by Secret Service snipers.

Governor Ron DeSantis said on Sunday night that “The State of Florida will be conducting its own investigation regarding the attempted assassination at Trump International Golf Club.”

He added: “The people deserve the truth about the would-be assassin and how he was able to get within 500 yards of the former president and current GOP nominee.”

A firearms expert has told The Washington Post